USCIS needs to investigate those Woyanne members who are applying for political asylum in the U.S. These are the people who made it impossible for Ethiopians to live and work in their own country freely.
The U.S. immigration service said yesterday that it will temporarily stop denying green cards to refugees and other legal immigrants tied to groups that sought to topple foreign dictatorships, placing their cases on hold while it determines more “logical, common-sense” rules for judging them.
The decision will potentially affect thousands of pending applications for permanent U.S. residence. The cases of hundreds of others who have been denied green cards since December will also be reexamined, said Jonathan “Jock” Scharfen, deputy director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. All the applicants are living in this country under refugee or other visa provisions or political asylum.
Most of the applications involve people linked to groups that U.S. immigration and counterterrorism laws have defined as “undesignated terrorist organizations” because they took armed action against a foreign government. The groups include U.S. allies that fought against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the Taliban government in Afghanistan, as well as Burma’s military junta and Sudan’s Islamic leaders.
Scharfen said that USCIS recognized the illogic of admitting immigrants under one provision of the law and then labeling them terrorists for green card purposes, calling it a “very good question.” At the same time, he said, the restrictions are “written so that the definition of a terrorist organization and activity is very, very broad.” Even groups that have been “closely associated with the United States,” such as Montagnard tribesmen who fought with U.S. forces in Vietnam, “fall under the definitions.”
In addition to the Immigration and Nationality Act, restrictions are contained in the 2001 USA Patriot Act and the 2005 Real ID Act. The laws, Scharfen said, “cover groups that are opposed to the government. Any government.”
Although there are waiver provisions, they are cumbersome and rarely used. Denials and delays in processing applications — with determinations made by the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department — have been sharply criticized by many in Congress and by nongovernmental immigration groups.
“USCIS is right to review such cases, especially for people in Iraq and Afghanistan who have helped the U.S. and suffered persecution for doing so,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who chairs the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on immigration. “It would be tragic to prevent such people from receiving the full protection of our immigration laws because of a harsh interpretation of laws that should be used to go after true terrorists.”
The catalyst for yesterday’s decision, Scharfen and other officials said, was a Washington Post article last weekend about a translator for U.S. forces in Iraq. Saman Kareem Ahmad, 38, arrived in the United States under a special visa program for those assisting the nation’s war effort, after his life was threatened in Iraq. He had received commendations from the secretary of the Navy and then-Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, now the top U.S. commander in Iraq, as well as strong support from Marine and Army officers with whom he had worked. Ahmad was later granted political asylum, but his application for permanent residence was denied last month on grounds he had once served with Kurdish military forces that fought against Hussein.
The USCIS letter denying Ahmad’s petition said that the Kurdistan Democratic Party forces fit the definition of terrorist, based on information it had gleaned from public Web sites, because KDP forces “conducted full-scale armed attacks and helped incite rebellions against Hussein’s regime, most notably during the Iran-Iraq war, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
The KDP, a U.S. ally, is now part of the elected Iraqi government, and Ahmad teaches Arabic language and culture at the Marine Corps base in Quantico and other military facilities, working with Marines who are about to deploy to Iraq. Although the letter said the denial could not be appealed, Scharfen said yesterday that Ahmad’s case is now “under review” and should be resolved “in a matter of days.”
Until recently, waivers were narrowly allowed for those who had involuntarily aided “Tier III,” or “undesignated,” terrorist groups — such as kidnapping victims or those forced under threat to provide assistance. Legislation passed in December broadened the waiver provisions to include people who, under certain circumstances, had received military training or participated in violent actions.
DHS and the State Department, Scharfen said, will now identify groups that may be eligible for exemption. “We’ve recognized there are issues that need to be addressed in a logical, common-sense fashion so that we can apply the exemptions that the law provides.” He said they will “start making a list” of groups from Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Ethiopia and other countries.
“There are lots of groups around the world,” Scharfen said, adding that “it could be a cumbersome process.” But “all of us have this as a priority,” he said. “We want to do this in a way that is careful and deliberate, but also with efficiency and dispatch.” He said that USCIS planned to announce the hold placed on pending applications on its Web site and that the agency would notify those whose denials are being reviewed.
A former Utah Valley State College student was sentenced Thursday to serve one more month in jail and three years of probation for felony theft. The 20-year-old will likely be deported to Ethiopia before he finishes that sentence, attorneys said.
Kidus Chane Yohannes was convicted in February of third-degree felony possession of his roommate’s credit card. Two additional felony charges of buying guns with a false identification number were dropped in December.
Judge Gary Stott denied a motion by attorney Richard Gale to reduce the felony charge to a class A misdemeanor.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander said reducing the charge might have allowed Yohannes to avoid penalties associated with a felony conviction, like deportation.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on Yohannes, which means federal authorities likely are planning to begin deportation proceedings, Grunander said.
Yohannes is in the United States on political asylum from Ethiopia, which could complicate deportation, Grunander said.
Yohannes is purportedly “consumed with violent depictions of the death of United States military servicemen, as well as human execution by gunfire,” according to 4th District Court documents. He also allegedly made statements about killing a police officer, according to court documents.
Those statements contributed to the Utah County Attorney’s Office’s determination to get a felony conviction, which ensures that Yohannes can never again legally possess a gun in the United States, Grunander said.
Stott sentenced him to serve 120 days in jail, with credit for time served since his June arrest.
(Reuters) – Kenenisa Bekele will be out to erase the one blemish on his extraordinary resume on Sunday by reclaiming the world cross country crown he unexpectedly relinquished last year.
The Ethiopian won both the long and short races at the World cross country Championships every year from 2002 to 2006 and was hot favourite to win again in 2007 when he lined up in Mombasa seeking a 28th off-track victory.
However, the streak came to an end when he dropped out suffering from heat exhaustion and watched Eritrea’s Zersenay Tadese take the title.
The 12km battle between the two Africans is the highlight of the competition in Edinburgh – and if their dry-run on the same course in January is anything to go by, it could be a classic encounter.
Last year’s Mombasa victory was Tadese’s only success in 12 races against the master.
But over a shorter 9.3km distance, Bekele could not break clear and crossed the line only a second ahead of his latest rival.
Still only 25, Bekele, three-times world 10,000m champion and 2004 Olympic 10,000m gold medallist on the track, has 11 world cross-country golds and is seeking to become the first man to win the world long course cross country title six times.
Kenyans John Ngugi and Paul Tergat both won five, while the shorter race is no longer held.
Uganda’s 21-year-old Moses Kipsiro, who pipped Tadese in the Cross Internacional de Italica in Seville in January when both men were given the same time, adds some extra spice to the upcoming encounter.
Bekele’s Ethiopian team-mates Sileshi Sihine, twice a world 10,000m silver medallist, Abebe Dinkessa and Gebregziabher Gebremariam should also be in the mix.
Eliud Kipchoge and Joseph Ebuya, who finished third and fourth in Edinburgh in January in the same time as Tadese, will spearhead the Kenyan challenge along with Gideon Ngatuny as their country seeks its first long course men’s title since Tergat won his fifth gold in 1999.
Kenya are seeking a third successive team victory, despite their preparations being disrupted by the recent violence in the country, having got back on track after Ethiopia [2004 and 2005 champions] ended their remarkable run of 18 in a row.
Tergat said earlier this month that retaining the title would help Kenya deal with the aftermath of the post-election violence.
“We can rise from the ashes like the proverbial phoenix and retain the world title,” he said.
Australia’s Craig Mottram is likely to be the only non-African challenging the front runners and, having a Scottish mother, he will be guaranteed good local support.
It was a similar story in the women’s race last year where Kenya-born Dutchwoman Lornah Kiplagat triumphed to prevent Tirunesh Dibaba making it three in a row.
But the Ethiopian, 10,000 metres champion on the track in Osaka last year, starts as favourite.
Her compatriot Gelete Burka, winner of the last two world short-course races in 2005 and 2006, could push her hard and knows the course, having won there in January.
Reuters
Isn’t this a case of misguided economic policy? Why don’t they grow teff, wheat, corn, and other food crops for the local market to feed the millions of starving people at home first before providing flowers to European markets?
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By Jason McLure, Bloomberg — Ethiopia may export $186 million in flowers to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East this year, the Ethiopian Producer Exporters Association said.
Exports last year are estimated at $125 million, Kassahun Mammo, executive director of the association, said in an interview in the capital, Addis Ababa, today.
“This is a sector where we can generate foreign exchange for the country,” he said.
Flower production in Ethiopia, Africa’s second-biggest exporter of the blooms after Kenya, is increasing since the government offered farmers incentives to start flower farms, including waiving duties on imported machinery and grace periods for tax payments.
Ethiopia began exporting flowers in 2001-02, when income totaled $159,000. Exports soared to $2.9 million the following year.
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To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via the Johannesburg bureau at [email protected].
Construction on the fibre-optics East African Submarine Cable System (Eassy) project, which would connect 21 African countries to each other and the rest of the world with high-quality Internet and international communications services started on Thursday.
The cable would be installed by Alcatel-Lucent along the sea-bed off Africa’s east coast. It was expected to be operational by the first half of 2010.
“We are pleased to work with the Eassy Consortium in laying this new cable that will expand communications capabilities and help reduce the digital divide in the region,” said Alcatel-Lucent submarine network activity president Etienne Lafougère.
The supply contract for installation of the cable was now in force. The funds were provided by the consortium of 25 telecommunications operators, of which 19 were African companies.
The operators of the system were Bharti Airtel Limited of India, Botswana Telecommunications Corporation, British Telecommunications, Dalkom of Somalia, Djibouti Telecom SA, Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates, France Telecom, Mauritius Telecom, MTN of South Africa, Neotel of South Africa, Saudi Telecom Company, Comores Telecom, Sudan Telecom Company, Tanzania Telecommunications Company, Telecom Malagasy, Telecommunicacões de Mocambique, Telkom Kenya, Telkom SA Vodacom of South Africa, Zambia Telecommunications Company, Zanzibar Telecom, Uganda Telecom, U-Com Burundi SA, Office National Des Telecommunications of Lesotho, Lesotho Telecommunications Authority, and Gilat Satcom Nigeria.
Five major development finance institutions, namely the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Bank, the Agence Française de Développement, KfW of Germany, and the European Investment Bank, were partnering to provide the project’s long-term loan financing of $70,7-million, with $18,2-million coming from IFC.
The $247,1-million balance of the project cost, would be provided by the Eassy consortium members.
“This is a very important milestone toward implementation of the Eassy cable, which will transform the telecommunications landscape in the region. It will provide Internet and other communications access for 250 million Africans and substantially reduce costs for consumers and businesses,” said IFC director for global information and communication technologies Mohsen Khalil.
The cable would run 10 000 km from Africa’s southern tip, around the African horn, and into the Red Sea, connecting South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan.
The IFC indicated that consumers along Africa’s east coast typically paid between $200 and $300 a month for Internet access via satellite.
These prices created a barrier to usage and restricted economic activity and growth. Once the Eassy cable was in place, prices for international connectivity were expected to drop by two-thirds at the outset, and the number of subscribers would increase rapidly.
Because the project would give open access to service providers, prices would fall further as volume and competition increased. This was expected to stimulate the development of new knowledge-based industries, call-centers, and similar ventures. Educational and health activities in the region would also benefit from access to low-cost Internet.
In a separate initiative, the World Bank was assisting with the implementation of regional distribution networks to connect landlocked countries in East Africa to each other and the Eassy cable, helping maximise access.
Another 13 adjoining countries would also be linked to the system as terrestrial backbone networks were completed through the broader World Bank initiative, and these included Botswana, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Construction on the fibre-optics East African Submarine Cable System (EASSY) project has been launched on Thursday to connect 21 African countries to each other and the rest of the world with high-quality Internet and international communications services.
It is reported that the cable would be installed by Alcatel-Lucent along the sea-bed off Africa’s east coast. It was expected to be operational by the first half of 2010.
“We are pleased to work with the Eassy Consortium in laying this new cable that will expand communications capabilities and help reduce the digital divide in the region,” said Alcatel-Lucent submarine network activity president Etienne Lafougère.
The supply contract for installation of the cable was now in force. The funds were provided by the consortium of 25 telecommunications operators, of which 19 were African companies.
The operators of the system were Bharti Airtel Limited of India, Botswana Telecommunications Corporation, British Telecommunications, Dalkom of Somalia, Djibouti Telecom SA, Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates, France Telecom, Mauritius Telecom, MTN of South Africa, Neotel of South Africa, Saudi Telecom Company, Comores Telecom, Sudan Telecom Company, Tanzania Telecommunications Company, Telecom Malagasy, Telecommunicacões de Mocambique, Telkom Kenya, Telkom SA Vodacom of South Africa, Zambia Telecommunications Company, Zanzibar Telecom, Uganda Telecom, U-Com Burundi SA, Office National Des Telecommunications of Lesotho, Lesotho Telecommunications Authority, and Gilat Satcom Nigeria.
Five major development finance institutions, namely the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Bank, the Agence Française de Développement, KfW of Germany, and the European Investment Bank, were partnering to provide the project’s long-term loan financing of $70,7-million, with $18,2-million coming from IFC.
The $247,1-million balance of the project cost, would be provided by the Eassy consortium members.
“This is a very important milestone toward implementation of the Eassy cable, which will transform the telecommunications landscape in the region. It will provide Internet and other communications access for 250 million Africans and substantially reduce costs for consumers and businesses,” said IFC director for global information and communication technologies Mohsen Khalil.
The cable would run 10 000 km from Africa’s southern tip, around the African horn, and into the Red Sea, connecting South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan.
The IFC indicated that consumers along Africa’s east coast typically paid between $200 and $300 a month for Internet access via satellite.
These prices created a barrier to usage and restricted economic activity and growth. Once the Eassy cable was in place, prices for international connectivity were expected to drop by two-thirds at the outset, and the number of subscribers would increase rapidly.
Because the project would give open access to service providers, prices would fall further as volume and competition increased. This was expected to stimulate the development of new knowledge-based industries, call-centers, and similar ventures. Educational and health activities in the region would also benefit from access to low-cost Internet.
In a separate initiative, the World Bank was assisting with the implementation of regional distribution networks to connect landlocked countries in East Africa to each other and the Eassy cable, helping maximise access.
Another 13 adjoining countries would also be linked to the system as terrestrial backbone networks were completed through the broader World Bank initiative, and these included Botswana, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
